Summer Tourism on the Rise in Temecula

Summer is off to a great start for travel and tourism in Temecula.

Hotel bookings are up and reservations are for extended stays.

A report from the Temecula Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau indicates an upswing in the number of international guests and of those coming from other states.

“People would be surprised to hear people are visiting us from all over the world,” said Annette Brown, marketing and public relations manager for the bureau.

Brown said the city has been focusing on international tourism and in attracting guests who live outside the state because the longer they stay the more dollars they spend.

“I just came back from a media event in Canada. We met with top travel writers and news outlets,” said Brown.

The bureau's marketing team also is attending trade shows and getting websites to focus on the Valley; Brandusa.com, UStravel.org and Visitcalifornia.com are some of those websites.

“Our traffic is certainly up from last year and that goes hand in hand with revenue.  It does seem as though folks are enjoying themselves a bit more,” said Peggy Evans, executive director for the

Evans said the usual pattern is that the wineries will see lots of locals (those within an hour drive or so) visiting for the . 

“With summer vacation in full swing there's sure to be visitors from all over the country here as well,” said Evans.

A representative for Europa Village said that last weekend was slower than normal but the winery expects a busier-than-normal week because of the holiday.

As of Tuesday morning, is reporting a mild week but sold out its weekend; the is sold out on Saturday and sold out on Tuesday and Saturday with limited availability the rest of the week.